IGI news
Write and Illustrate Course
December 05 2009
For the first time Adrienne Geoghegan is combining both writing and illustration into her popular course.
This Picture Book Writing & Illustration course is a ‘relaxed’ course, suitable for aspiring, beginner or emerging children’s writers, and those with a love of children’s literature, and enthusiasm to learn more. Some basic drawing skills and ability with at least one colour medium is required.
Just like her popular ILLUSTRATION BOOT CAMP, this course will be run from the beautiful Garden Art Room in the Carmelite Centre, Aungier Street, Dublin 2.
Writing Syllabus:
For this part you will receive an overview of the many components of children’s literature. You might have a great idea, but how do you actually go about writing a children’s picture book? Part lecture, part workshop, this course will take you through the process of writing, editing, and submitting a children’s picture book. There will be writing assignments along the way to keep you on track.
TOPICS:
1. How to ‘write in pictures’.
2. Brainstorm for your initial idea.
3. Story framework/character development.
4. How to develop a premise into a plot.
5. The right language and vocabulary.
6. Picture book genres & themes
7. Point of view/voice. 8. Dialogue, /readability/settings and fantasy.
9. Techniques for hooking readers & editors.
10. Making language ‘sing,’
11. Why editors like to choose their own illustrators.
12. Cultivate the habit of revision and editing.
13. The nuts and bolts of marketing a manuscript, amongst lots more….
By the end of this part of the course you will have a completed picture book manuscript, ready to submit to publishers.
Illustration Syllabus:
This course will appeal to people with a professional or general art background, who enjoy picture making. A good understanding of the relationship between image and text is vital to success in creating children’s picture books. It is important to feel comfortable with drawing, as this is our chief means of communicating when we create picture books. The approach will emphasise sequence, pace, continuity, design, layout and the actual working of a picture book. The course concentrates on moulding your existing technique to fit the children’s book market. The aim is to increase both experimentation and professionalism.
TOPICS:
1. Notable illustrators – contemporary and historical.
2. Physical structure of a picture book,
3. Planning your book.
4 Visual continuity and the sequential image.
5. Character development.
6. Keeping sketchbooks.
7. Picture space and composition.
8. How to break down and interpret a text
9. Create dynamic images specifically oriented for the picture book market.
10. How to create a layout and paginate a text.
11. Creating thumbnail sketches.
12. Deciding on a medium/personal style.
13. Interaction, composition and content.
14. Creating a complete Book Dummy. Amongst lots more…
By the end of this part of the course you will have created a Book Dummy ready for presentation to prospective publishers, or to include in your portfolio as a demonstration of your capabilities. You can combine your illustration project with your writing project (illustration and writing for ONE book) or do two different projects, example: write one picture book and illustrate another.
Venue: The Garden Art Room, The Carmelite Centre, 56 Aungier St, Dublin 2.
Duration and times: From 5th Feb to 6 August 2010.
Friday evenings: 6.30 to 9pm.
Fees: €780 in total - €180 deposit will secure your place.
Contact: Adrienne Geoghegan, for further details adriennegeoghegan(at)gmail.com
Phone 016776032 or 087 9919211
Competition Winner
Paula McGloin, an Illustration Boot Camp Student of Adrienne Geoghegan, won the Boot Camp poster design competition, and will receive a 100euro O’Sullivans Graphics Gift Voucher prize….
